When I Get Older

When bullets stitched the sky over Mogadishu in 1991, thirteen-year-old Keinan Warsame clutched his poet-grandfather’s notebooks and followed his mother onto a flight bound for New York, then Toronto—new cities that chewed his Somali vowels yet offered a thin crack of Immigrant Rights and Racial Justice. Bullies mocked his accent, street gangs stole classmates, but Keinan fed every bruise into rhymes that thumped like camel drums, birthing the anthem “Wavin’ Flag.” Years later, he faced the United Nations, reciting verses so fierce that Senegalese superstar Youssou N’Dour whisked him onto a world tour, and stadium lights replaced refugee-camp shadows. From Vancouver’s Olympic stage to FIFA World Cup crowds roaring in nineteen languages, K’NAAN’s hook—“When I get older, I will be stronger”—turned exile pain into a global chant of hope. Yet one question still rustles behind the hit’s soaring chorus: which young voice in today’s conflict zones will pen the next song that stitches continents together? Tap the blue ➕ to Save to List for later inspiration, or hit the bold arrow to Learn More and connect your classroom, youth group, or congregation to K’NAAN’s journey from war-torn alleyways to worldwide airwaves.